Brent Amaker and the Rodeo - Full Performance (Live on KEXP)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

The unProfessional

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Blog 5?

I am a tired road worn man. This tour is amazing, but I'm tired of blogging. I've just met my record label prez in person for the first time and it's the highlight of the tour. He is a cool motherfucker. I need to spend some time with him this evening. No time to blog.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Driving in Germany - Tour Blog 4

I’m in a van somewhere between Fulda and Frankfurt, Germany. Jim, our driver, just let us know that he has to return to Belgium for an emergency. He is leaving the Sprinter van with us. I’m not worried about this because of my crack team of drivers and problem solvers. This is the Rodeo. Benny will drive. Sugar will give him rests. And Johnny will make us all feel like it’s OK. But what’s scary is that we have been pulling over once a day to pour water in the radiator. And there is a squeaky noise under the hood that we affectionately refer to as “the crickets”. It will be OK. I know this because I have traveled the world with these guys. In Bridgeport, CT we had the windows smashed out of our van the day of our showcase at CMJ. We figured it out. Since the band formed we have traveled on planes, trains and automobiles. We have stayed up all night, seen the sunrise, driven without sleep, repaired vehicles, rewired amplifiers, performed with broken gear, and we have always made the gig. Things work out with this band. This will be the same.
It’s now the point of the tour where one day becomes the next and the day before might actually be three days ago. I can’t really tell where we are on the schedule unless I read it on a piece of paper. It’s seems like we have been in Germany much longer than we have. I’m starting to speak in broken English all the time. How you say? Nein sprechenze Deutch. Sprechenze English??

Last night I turned in early at 4:30 AM. The club was still open and music was pumping through the floor of our band apartment. I recall a mattress on the floor, I rolled over, and Benny was yelling at me telling me it was time to load up – 10 AM! Shit, that’s a pretty good nights sleep. The club owner served us breakfast and that’s when we realized that Johnny was not with us. Where the fuck is Johnny?!? Sugar said that Johnny knew the time we would be leaving. He would be back. Johnny is a survivor, so I wasn’t worried about him. But we like having him around and there was a chance we would have to leave him in Fulda. We were prepared to do this if necessary. He’d just have to meet us on down the road. But before breakfast was done, Johnny walked in smiling and making jokes. Suddenly lightness returned to the room. I’m glad we didn’t have to leave the little squirrel behind.
Right now I’m watching Jim explain things to Benny. There is a new thumping noise under the hood that we have not heard previously. Jim says this is no problem, and that it’s just a screw that fell into the water pump. Apparently this is normal and it goes away after 30 minutes of driving. As long as it’s just a noise, we don’t care. Jim is looking after us. We have his phone number and documents for the van. We have the German equivalent of AAA. And we have Benny. Everything will be OK as long as we have Benny.
The wind is blowing in my face. I’m exhausted, but my head is not pounding. I am with my friends and everyone is healthy. And I’m on tour in Germany. Now that I think about it, things couldn’t be better.

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days. Danke for reading.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Tour Blog 3

Ostpol = East Pole. This is what I learned from a random local chick before our show. The town of Dresden was controlled by the GDR until the wall came down. You can tell this by the stuff left behind, and maybe even the people (who were totally kick ass folks). Dresden is a beautiful historic city that existed long before the war. It still bears some wounds from the bombing raids of 1945, but it is pretty much restored now. It's a fantastic place. The owners of Ostpol spent two years collecting GDR era Dresden artifacts (furniture, wall paper, fixtures) to create a theme that takes you back in time. Hence the name East Pole. Not the North Pole, or South Pole. The East Pole. There is a lounge and a venue with a small stage. The whole place (including the band flat upstairs) has style. I'd describe it as 1970's eastern bloc sheik. Amazing!

Anyhow, The Rodeo came and destroyed. Don't worry, Dresden has survived much worse and they won't have to rebuild after our visit. That being said, we did our thing. Tiny Dancer had his cigarettes on stage and I smoked about two packs of second hand smoke by the time we finished our set. It was hot and dirty and perfect. We didn't need a hazer for effect. The crowd provided the atmosphere. Dresden rocks.
I've been living out a cardboard box because we needed to use my suitcase for the merchandise. The box was finally falling a part. I just lucked out and found a bag at a store across the street from the club. Yes! It's the small things in life.....
Photos by Johnny Podhradsky

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Tour blog #2

It's weird when you travel through time zones. The first day turns into three days and you tend to lose track of time itself. I'm not sure how long we have been in Berlin, but we have now played three shows, one of which was an impromptu gig in our hotel lobby.
So much has happened in this short period of time, that I can't even start to cover it all. It feels like we have been living in Berlin for a month.

Today our driver Freddy meets with us and we start the ground travel portion of this trip. Freddy arrived from Belgium last night and slept in the van outside our hotel. We haven't met him yet, but he told us that he prefers to sleep in his van. I think that is so he can protect his gear. Anyhow, it'll be cool to meet Freddy today. It'll be cool to get on the road.

Before we do anything else, it's important that I thank those who helped us get here. The band raised money for airfare through a Kickstarter campaign prior to leaving. I was left speechless from the generosity of our supporters. We could not have made it to Europe without that support. The following backers gave big so we could be in Germany today. There were many who helped, but this group gave over $50, or gave of their time in such a way that they deserve special thanks:

Last night we were up late. We've been staying in an amazing spot called the Michelberger Hotel. This place caters to artists and rock n roll types. The hotel bar is a popular place to get loaded in East Berlin. The neighborhood itself is incredible. We are one block away from the Berlin wall. A bridge leads across a river and on the other side you find West Berlin. Apparently David Bowie lived in this very same neighborhood back when he was writing all of his best music. Crazy shit!

Anyhow, the bar down stairs is happening. As if touring is not enough, we come home after our shows and shit is going down every night. I'm finally adjusting to jet lag, but I'm not sure what time schedule I am on. I think I'll just call it the "East Berlin rock n roll" time zone. Sleep happens anytime you can get it. The day ends when you pass out.

I'm having a hard time remembering all that we have done, so I'm going to just give you a small taste with a selection of photos from the trip. Our band photographer and all around road dog Johnny Podhradsky is responsible for the bulk of this. The rest are from my iPhone.
BERLIN
I'll be checking in and giving you more as I'm able. The internet kind of sucks over here. Hard to predict when I can get a solid signal. I'll get back to you when I can.